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“Mobile Surge Teams” will assist police officers in controlling large crowds and crime across Philadelphia, authorities announced Friday.
Philadelphia Police Department First Deputy Chief John Stanford announced that “rapid teams” will be patrolling throughout the city starting this weekend from Friday night to Saturday morning and from Saturday night to Sunday morning.
“In recent years, we have seen many incidents occur on Friday nights and Saturday nights across the city,” Stanford said. “So starting tonight, one of the things that we’re going to do to address some of the incidents that we’ve seen is essentially a mobile raid consisting of a significant number of police officers. It’s about deploying the team.”
Stanford said the idea behind the team came after Mayor Sherrell Parker ordered Philadelphia Police Chief Kevin Bethel to develop a strategy for putting officers on the streets to reduce crime. It is said that it comes from the 100 day plan.
“As you all know, when Mayor Parker took office, she talked about urban planning. One of the elements of that was to make the city safer, and the city government to put more police officers on the streets. ,” Stanford said.
According to Stanford University, the “rapid teams” will be made up of officers from non-patrol units, such as administrative units and tactical support units, and the current staffing of patrol units will not be affected. Stanford said the team will respond to “planned and unplanned events” such as large gatherings and car meet-ups. They will also be used to strengthen and support current police forces rather than replace them.
Stanford did not say how many officers were involved, but said “a significant number of officers were deployed.”
Stanford also said officials are open to adjusting strategies over time, but already have plans in place for specific locations that troops will patrol throughout the year. The “express team” will also wear uniforms and ride in marked police vehicles. Supervisors also work collaboratively with the team.
Stanford said the surge team will focus on everything from gun violence to retail theft, while citing enforcement of large crowds and large gatherings.
“When I say fight crime, that encompasses all crime,” Stanford said. “If they’re patrolling and there’s a quality of life issue that they can address, they’ll address those issues. Obviously, violent crime is a top priority in keeping the city safe, but Crime is crime. We’re not just doing it. “We’re picking and choosing. If they see a crime being committed, they’re going to react. They’re going to take action.”
Stanford did not reveal the specific locations it will focus on each weekend, but said its strategy will be driven by data. He also said the region will change throughout the year depending on where the data leads.
“So data is going to determine where we go,” Stanford said. “That’s been the situation in terms of looking at our deployment. The strategy of where we essentially need to have officers patrolling — a higher standard of deployment, so to speak — that we don’t know. The number of gun violence, the number of robberies, the number of shootings, all of those things are different. ”
The announcement came nearly two weeks after a shooting occurred while police were breaking up a large group of teens near Temple University.
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